Phil Spencer: “I embrace the Scepticism People Might have Because of Games For Windows – Live”

Phil Spencer stated that he embraces the scepticism people have about gaming on Windows and that is why he’s avoiding fancy videos relying instead on releasing SDKs to studios.

He states that they are “fully committed to expanding” across all Windows 10 devices, which is why the new unified Store is so powerful. It allows Xbox developers to “seamlessly move from Xbox to PC”.

“This will sound funny, but I embrace the scepticism people might have because of Games For Windows – Live. It’s in our past, and wasn’t a fleshed-out programme fully supported by the Xbox team; it was another thing that was separate,”

Phil Spencer has explained to Gamesradar:

Games for Windows LIVE was, basically, a train-wreck for the PC gaming market. Initially it dared to bring its Gold subscription model to Windows where you’d have to pay monthly in order to enjoy multiplayer. Unless it’s an MMO or people enjoy the comfort of a dedicated server host, no one pays to play PC titles online. GFWL broke a golden rule, and they abandoned it.

“But if you bet on us for Games For Windows – Live, I can understand somebody saying, “Hey, you’re going to have to earn my trust back.” And that’s why when I stand there talking about it, I’m not showing any fancy videos, I’m not trying to pizzazz you with anything other than, “Here’s what we are; here’s what we’re trying to do. And the SDKs are available now.””

Regarding the new Windows Store challenging Steam Spencer states:

“I think Steam’s great, and they have a lot of my money – a large part of my games library is in Steam. Steam is very much a gamer’s store, but I think our Windows Store will start off with a diversity of content like the App Store or Google Play,” continued Spencer.

“I think there are enough gaming customers to go round, and I don’t expect anybody’s going to delete their Steam account when they buy a game in the Windows Store and vice versa.”

Spencer continues:

“If you’re an Xbox developer, there are some tools that we’re providing that allow you to seamlessly move from Xbox to PC – Xbox Live and the Universal App Platform will be helpful for those guys. I love what Steam is doing – Valve is an innovative company, and I don’t think the world’s going to dissolve down to one retailer, either on the high street or digitally.”

Windows 10 is launching later this year as a free upgrade for all Windows 7 or 8/8.1 users.